Season 2-Episode 11: Funding Our Future - Updates to Student Opportunity Act with AFTMA President Beth Kontos
FACT: The Student Opportunity Act as approved by the Massachusetts Senate would add $1.4 Billion to Chapter 70 Funding by 2027.
FACT: The Student Opportunity Act as approved by the Massachusetts Senate adopts ALL of the Foundation Budget Review Commission (FBRC) recommendations - and makes some critical adjustments.
FACT: The Student Opportunity Act as approved by the Massachusetts Senate defines and addresses the needs of our low-income students, Special Education students, and English Language Learners. The legislation approved by the Massachusetts Senate also addresses increased need for guidance and psychological services AND addresses increased health insurance costs.
FACT: We need to get this legislation passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives!
Getting state education funding (Chapter 70) updated has been an uphill struggle. Despite the 2015 Foundation Budget Review Commission or FBRC’s recommendations, the legislature failed to pass a fair and equitable funding solution to 25 plus years of underfunding public education just over a year ago. This was a giant disappointment to those of us who had worked toward fixing the funding of public education in Massachusetts.
With a broad coalition forming a partnership in January 2019, efforts to Fund Our Future through the Promise Act (for K-12 education) and Cherish Act (Higher Education) relaunched. Throughout the Spring and Summer hearings on legislative proposals were held and finally, FINALLY, on the Joint Committee on Education supported legislation that embraced most of the FBRC’s recommendations.
We’re catching up with AFT-MA President Beth Kontos about the funding legislation’s journey from Committee to the Massachusetts Senate. Beth will update us as to where we stand today. We are not quite at that finish line, so Beth will explain what needs to be done by all of us so that this important, essential legislation become law. Our students are counting on us and they cannot wait!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Fund Our Future’s explanation of the Student Opportunity Act as passed by the Massachusetts Senate.
Fact Sheet from Massachusetts Legislature on Student Opportunity Act.
S.2350 Bill History (including amendments) from Massachusetts Legislature
Take Action Page for the Student Opportunity Act from Fund Our Future. Suggested scripts, email forms, and legislator look-ups.
Wondering who YOUR Massachusetts House Representative is? Click on FIND MY LEGISLATOR.
Thanks once again to AFT-MA President Beth Kontos for updating us on the Student Opportunity Act. We know many of you have contacted your Legislators by phone, email, or snail mail or attended a hearing or rally. There is still work to be done and we ask all of you to continue to contact your Massachusetts House Representative - as they say “early and often”. Check the UTL’s Facebook page or Five for Friday for updates on when the Massachusetts House will take up this legislation. Working together, we can get this done!
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